Salutius | |
|---|---|
 Edict fromEmperor Julian to Secundus, prefect of the Eastern Praetorium concerning the judgment of minor cases. Latin copy found atAmorgos. around 362 AD | |
| Born | Saturninius Secundus 4th century |
| Died | 4th century |
| Occupation(s) | Bureaucrat and author |
| Years active | fl. 355–367 |
| Notable work | On the Gods and the Cosmos |
| Office | Governor ofAquitania Governor ofAfrica Magister memoriae Praetorian prefect |
| Children | 1 son[1] |
Saturninius Secundus Salutius (fl. 355–367) was a Roman official andNeoplatonist author. A native ofGaul, he had a successful career as a provincial governor and officer at the imperial court, becoming a close friend and adviser of the EmperorJulian.[2] Salutius was well versed in Greek philosophy and rhetoric, and had a reputation for competence and incorruptibility in office.[3][4] He authored a Neoplatonic religious treatise titledOn the Gods and the Cosmos, in support of Julian's pagan reaction against Christianity.[5]
Salutius's official name was Saturninius Secundus, as he is called in inscriptions and official documents. Thesignum, or informal name, 'Salutius', sometimes 'Salustius', was otherwise the main way to refer to him.[6][7] He was born to a non-senatorial family inRoman Gaul, and was a pagan.[2] His career included governorships ofGallia Aquitania andAfrica, as well as the position ofmagister memoriae at the imperial court. He probably held these offices under the emperorConstans, as he was already an old man by the time he was assigned to the staff ofJulian Caesar in Gaul.[4] It was probably through his counsel that Julian developed the skills of administration he displayed in Gaul. In 359 AD,Constantius II removed him from Gaul.[3][8]
When Julian became sole emperor, he raised Salutius topraetorian prefect of the Orient late in 361. One of Salutius' early tasks was to oversee theChalcedon tribunal.[9] Salutius accompanied his emperor on the Persian campaign, during which Julian was killed. As a sign of their great respect for him, the military command first nominated him to become their emperor, but Salutius refused the honor, pleading illness and old age, and the purple then fell toJovian.[10][11] After the return from Persia, Salutius continued in the office of praetorian prefect during the reign ofValentinian until he was replaced by Nebridius.[12]
Salutius, and not his contemporaryFlavius Sallustius, is almost certainly to be identified as theSalustios (Ancient Greek:Σαλούστιος) who, according toPhotios, wrote the theological pamphletOn the Gods and the Cosmos (Περὶ θεῶν καὶ κόσμουPeri theōn kai kosmou).[13][14][15][16][17]
The work, a kind of catechism of 4th-centuryHellenic paganism, owes much to that ofIamblichus of Chalcis, who synthesizedPlatonism withPythagoreanism andtheurgy, and also to Julian's own philosophical writings.[18] The treatise is quite concise, and generally free of the lengthy metaphysical theorizing of the more detailed Neoplatonic texts. Its aim is in part "to parry the usual onslaughts of Christian polemic" in the face ofChristianity's growing preeminence, and "me[e]t theology with theology".[19]